The Story behind Grab’s #DeliveringHappyness Campaign

Once upon a time, we had a humble idea to deliver books to underprivileged kids in Malaysia. It broke expectations. Now, we’re bringing it back.

We couldn’t imagine a childhood without Harry Potter and Enid Blyton. But not everyone can afford the pleasures of a good book.

Across Southeast Asia, children in poorer, rural areas lack the same access to knowledge – be it books or formal education – as their urban friends.

That’s why three years ago this month, our Grab team in Malaysia launched a small donation drive for these kids.

The idea was simple: Anyone with our app could book a Grab driver and pass them pre-loved books and school stationery (we welcomed toys too because, hey, which kid doesn’t want toys?). Our drivers would deliver the items to rural libraries in Malaysia and we’d pay the fare.

We started with a modest budget of RM2,540 (or around SGD$819) – the bulk of which covered the cost of rides – and modest goals to collect 2,000 items.

The response? Phenomenal. We garnered 8,000 items – four times our target – or enough to fill 20 rural libraries!

That’s why we’ve brought back our donation drive in a much bigger way this year.

Called Delivering Happyness, it is a regional effort this time in the countries we operate in: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

Our aim? To collect 20,000 items for 7,000 children across Southeast Asia.

If you’re keen to help underprivileged children, look out for this icon in your Grab app.